MC stared at Monika in stunned silence, as did both Yuri, Natsuki and Sayori.
Their Club President merely returned their looks calmly, smiling as confidently as usual. She didn't seem keen on elaborating any further on this newest suggestion of hers unless prompted, so MC supposed he just had to bite the bullet.
"What… do you mean, exactly?" He asked hesitantly, unsure if he even wanted to know the answer. He was getting that familiar sinking feeling that this was yet another "Monika-Scheme," which could easily reach the same level of craziness as Sayori's strokes of mad genius, although they typically weren't quite as wholesome as hers and usually served some kind of nefarious purpose.
Monika's bright smile actually widened as she continued staring at him, without blinking once.
"I really don't think it's that hard to understand." She said. "We'll set you up in one of my guest rooms, and then you can spend the month recovering in a friendly, familiar environment all the while a sweet, intelligent and unusually sexy nurse caters to your every need. Sure beats some sterilized hospital bed, right?"
"Yeah, but-" He tried to argue, but Natsuki spoke over him.
"Hang on. Why your house?!"
"It's kinda obvious, isn't it?" Monika winked at her. "I mean no offense to any of you of course, but… you know how I live, thanks to my family's fortune. It's just objectively the best place to be at."
"Riiight." Natsuki drawled, narrowing her eyes. "Sure, it's just in the interest of doing what's 'best' for MC. Putting him in your home and your care. And you getting the most out of the Arrangement that way is just a happy little accident, right?"
"Natsuki, I really don't think Monika meant it like that…" Sayori said, clearly sensing another fight was imminent and hurried to take her old role as the mediator again.
"Look, I like Monika as much as the next gal, but come on Sayo." Natsuki said, pointing rudely at their President's face who didn't so much as bat an eye. "Just look at that self-satisfied smirk. You can't deny that's totally something she'd do."
"Okay, okay." Monika chuckled, raising her hands in a conceding motion. "I'll admit, it would be kinda sus if I just took MC to live with me for a whole month. But, that's where you guys come in, literally. What if all of us moved in together?"
"Y- you don't mean…?" Yuri said.
"Now hang on just a minu-" MC tried interjecting again, but was cut off like before.
"Just think about it!" Monika exclaimed, beaming at them in excitement. "You know I have more than enough space, my parents won't be a factor for the foreseeable future, and MC will need all the company he can possibly get! So why not go balls to the wall and start a full on harem?! There won't be any living biases if everyone's living in the same space, it's perfect!"
"Wait, can we just time out for a seco-" MC made a third attempt to speak up only to be foiled immediately again, this time by Yuri.
"W- would you really be okay with all of us living with you?" She asked softly.
"Well, to be perfectly honest, I'd much prefer getting rid of every single one of you, brainwash MC until he no longer remembers any of you ever existing and finally have him for myself forever." Monika shrugged. "But if I can't have that, then sadly this is the next best thing."
A heavy silence followed in the wake of her statement which not even MC had the ability to break.
Then, Monika giggled lightly.
"Full disclosure, that was a joke." She clarified. "Well. Unless…?"
"You're not getting rid of us that easily." Natsuki frowned, crossing her arms.
"The suggestion sounds… well, ludicrous, to be frank." Yuri hesitated. "But… if it's just for one month…"
"Oh, it doesn't necessarily have to be." Monika smiled. "We could easily make this a permanent deal."
Wait, WHAT?
Natsuki blinked.
"Okay, you officially lost me. What?"
"Please, just think about it!" Monika urged. "My parents love their home country way too much to leave, so for all intents and purposes, the house is mine. We all love MC. Speaking for myself at least, I know in my heart that I'll love him forever. We all like each other as friends, even if we do squabble sometimes. So why not just go all out and fucking commit to this thing?!"
"Well, for one thing-"
"Yeah! I'd love to live with you, Moni!" Sayori burst out, and MC decided to just keep quiet from this point forward until he was sure they'd all finished talking. "We'd be like sisters together!"
"It would literally solve every logistics problem we had with the previous Arrangement!" Monika kept going, fueled by Sayori's enthusiasm. "MC would no longer have to slowly kill himself by running from house to house, he'd just need to casually walk to the next room. We can all cooperate and help each other much easier, with Nat's baking, Sayori's studies, and so on. We can be like… a family!"
Monika's eyes were almost sparkling from how genuine she was being with her proposal. Even he found it hard to look at her and not be swept up by her energy.
"Hey, let's just slow down a bit here." Natsuki held up a hand, signaling for Monika to stop. "This is… getting insane."
"I agree." Yuri nodded. "It does seem like a rather drastic decision to make."
"Hey, trust me, I totally get it." Monika reassured them. "And it's not one you need to make right here and now at all. But… why not give it a try? Think of this upcoming month as like a 'test run,' to see if the concept is viable at all, and then let's see what we think by the end, yeah?"
When Yuri and Natsuki continued looking skeptical, Monika sighed softly.
"There's no pressure either way, but… try to consider what's holding you back. I mean, what's really keeping you living where you are now? Is there even anything?"
An uncomfortable silence filled the room again as Yuri, Natsuki and Sayori's faces all darkened. Once more, although he really wanted to speak up against Monika's plan, MC just didn't have it in him to interrupt.
He knew all too well what the girls had to be thinking in this moment, since each one of them had confided in him how they didn't really like their homes because of all the bad memories associated with them.
Natsuki's was obvious, having suffered through years of abuse for most of her life by her father's hands, all within those walls.
After the attempt on her own life, Sayori had relocated most of her things to the living room, sleeping on the couch and only entering her old bedroom when she absolutely had to.
And Yuri… poor Yuri had walked into her living room one day only to find her mom and dad sitting slumped over by the dinner table, dead from a drug overdose. She'd only been twelve years old at the time.
He could easily imagine how tempting Monika's offer had to sound to them, to finally be freed from reliving their trauma every second they spent there alone. If it wasn't for all the logistics issues that came from moving, each one of them would probably have found a new home already.
"O- okay." Natsuki said at last. "If- if we're really doing this, we're gonna need crystal. clear. boundaries. If you give us a room, then that's our room, and you don't get to dictate how we live there, or barge in without warning, or abuse the 'this is my house' phrase for extortion. This is… well, frankly it's scary as fuck, so I need a space where I know I can be alone, in safety."
"Of course." Monika nodded. It was a testament to how serious she was about this idea to see that not a trace remained of her usual playful, teasing attitude anymore. At this moment, she was all business. "Whatever you need to be comfortable, I'll fully respect it. You'll have all the privacy you desire."
"Are there any limits to personal items we're allowed to bring with us?" Yuri asked next.
"Nope, I do not care at all." Monika said. "If you want to bring your entire knife collection with you, then I guarantee there'll be enough space for it. Although we might want to wait a bit on relocating the heavy furniture until we're fully sure about this. And so MC can help us carry everything."
Sayori then raised her hand, as if she was back in class and wanted to ask a question for the teacher.
"Yes, Sayori?" Monika smiled at her.
"I sing when I shower." Sayori confessed. "Will that be okay or are there special loudness rules at your house?"
"Not at all!" Monika laughed. "Honestly, I sing in there too. Maybe we can try having duets together?"
Sayori beamed.
"Oh, that actually ties in to my next questions." Natsuki said. "You have more than one bathroom, right? Because I can tell you right now that four girls living together with just one restroom is an equation that'll result in pure chaos."
"Every guestroom in the Mansion is outfitted with its own personal functional bathroom, and walk-in closet, don't you worry." Monika reassured her.
"Aight cool, next question then: just how thick are your walls? I really don't want to wake up in the middle of the night to moaning just because you guys can't keep it in your pants!"
She gave Monika a hard look, to which she giggled awkwardly, blushing.
"Well… We can buy some soundproofing, I'm sure. Anything for your convenience. Any other concerns?"
She looked from Natsuki, to Sayori, to Yuri. None of them said anything.
"Alright, so that appears to be that!" Monika clapped her hands together excitedly as she rose from the bed. "Yuri, wanna help me carry MC into the car?"
Welp. MC thought. Guess it's now or never.
"Wait!" He spoke up in an urgent tone, freezing Monika in her tracks as she'd just started pulling the covers off him again. "Can we just time out for a bit here?"
Everyone turned to look at him as if just now remembering his existence, which… was a big part of the problem. He really hated having to be the one putting a dampener on the mood just as they thought they'd figured out a solution. But it had to be done.
"I never agreed to any of this." He reminded them.
"Huh?" Monika said, her smile vanishing. It wasn't an easy feat to catch her off guard like this, and if the situation had been any different, he might have even been able to savor this rare look of utter befuddlement on her face.
He sighed.
"You guys know that I love you. All of you. But… sometimes you do this thing where you make these elaborate plans among yourselves and just assume I'll go along with them, without ever asking me about it. You did the same thing with the original Arrangement, and even when you got me joining the Club in the first place, remember?"
Sayori looked downcast, and avoided eye contact.
"That's not to say I'm mad about it or anything!" He hurried to clarify. "Once you actually explained the Arrangement to me, I was all on board! But these are huge things you're planning and… it kinda feels like my opinion on them doesn't really matter to you sometimes."
An uncomfortable silence followed in the wake of his words where the girls all looked around awkwardly at each other, seemingly unable to meet his eyes. Monika blushed deeply.
"Y- you're right, of course." She sighed, and sat back down on the bed again. "I'm… I'm sorry for making you feel excluded. We all need to get better at not taking you for granted, especially me. You're the one we're doing this for, so naturally your opinion on the matter is the most important."
"Thanks." He said, feeling even more awkward now. "I- I don't really like to be difficult or whine about things."
"You've been paralyzed!" Sayori exclaimed in disbelief. "If anyone here's got a right to whine, it's you!"
"Fully agreed." Monika nodded, and gave one of those kind, approachable "President" smiles she was well known for at school. "If you have any concerns or objections at all, I'd love nothing more than to hear them and try to make it better for you."
"I'm… just not sure if I'm comfortable with what you're suggesting." He said. "This is… really scary."
He groaned in frustration.
"Ugh, I'm sorry. Why am I so bad at this? I've been writing poems at the Literature Club for months now and I still can't even articulate my feelings properly!"
"Hey, hey, it's fine, don't be sorry." Monika said sympathetically. "I fully understand where you're coming from. Losing your ability to move… anyone would be frightened by that. But that's why I think coming to live with me would be the best option for you. You've been there plenty of times, heck, you were there today! You know exactly what it's like there."
"I know, and I think it's a really great place." He said, earnestly. "But to be there for a whole month, spending the nights… I'm just not sure if I can do that."
"Why not?" Monika asked, frowning slightly.
Yeah, that's the million-dollar question, isn't it? MC thought, having no idea how he should respond.
"I- I don't mean to speak for MC." Yuri spoke up. "b- but I think I might know where he's coming from. As someone with social anxiety, spending extended periods of time with other people can be… incredibly exhausting. Not because you don't like them or anything, it's just… hard. You start really depending on the privacy of your own home as the only safe space where you can breathe properly."
Monika glanced at Yuri and MC could immediately tell by her expression that she didn't understand. Having always been the popular student, Monika had never had an issue being social with anyone, for any time.
"Yeah, but… we already cleared this up with Natsuki!" Monika said. "Your rooms will function as your 'safe spaces' and I promise I'll respect any and all wishes for privacy. What is the issue here?"
"It's just…" MC said, struggling to find the right words. "…a whole other level of intimacy."
"Okay, I don't mean to be crass in front of Sayori and Natsuki." Monika retorted. "But… you've had sex with me. You've had so much sex with me."
"Oh, here we go again." Natsuki rolled her eyes.
"W- why are you okay with being crass in front of me…?" Yuri muttered in a low voice.
Monika ignored both of them.
"So why would you think this is so intimate when you've literally been inside of me?"
"Gross." Natsuki commented.
"It's just… I've never actually spent the night with you before. I may have slept with you, but I've never slept with you, y'know?"
He knew it was a weak argument from the moment he spoke it aloud, and clearly Monika did too if her deepening frown was any indication.
"No, I don't know!" She exclaimed, her voice growing louder. "I don't understand why you're so concerned with spending the night. Please, try and explain it to me."
"I am. It's just… difficult!" He blurted out.
Come on, just make something up! You had so much time to think of something before getting to this point!
There were problems with this line of thinking though. For one, lying to his girlfriends just felt incredibly, disgustingly wrong to him, no matter the situation. And secondly, only a fool would attempt lying to Monika. She'd know. She always knew.
But still, telling them the real reason just wasn't an option here.
"Is it something embarrassing?" Monika kept digging. "Do you snore or something? You have nothing to be ashamed of, we're your girlfriends! You can tell us anything, you know that, right?"
He hesitated.
"MC, you do trust us… don't you?" Monika said, and the sudden pain in her voice actually made his heart ache.
"Okay, you need to back the fuck off, Monika!" Natsuki suddenly piped up. "This isn't the Debate Club, stop interrogating MC when it's clear he doesn't want to talk about it!"
Monika blinked once, as if just now realizing how close she'd been leaning towards MC.
"I- I wasn't 'interrogating' him, I was just trying to help-"
"You were!" Natsuki interrupted. "If MC doesn't feel comfortable talking about it, then you need to respect his wishes and leave him be, not keep pushing him. If he wanted your help, he'd ask!"
Monika's eyes widened in realization, and she quickly retreated as if burned. Despite his wishes for solving this in a gentler way, MC couldn't help sending Nat a silent thought of gratitude for having his back in this.
But of course she would. He thought. She's the only one who actually knows what this is about.
"I'm sorry." Monika said softly. "I just wanted to try to understand what the problem was so I could fix it. But Natsuki's right, I shouldn't be forcing you to tell us everything. I'll just… have to accept that you have reservations about living with us, even though I don't fully understand why. I won't pressure or force you to accept this new Arrangement."
She released a sad sigh, and in that moment MC wanted nothing more than to just blurt out his deepest darkest secrets right here and now in the hope that it might cheer her up again.
But his rational thoughts won out in the end, and he kept his mouth shut.
"But I just want to tell you this." Monika said, locking eyes with him again. "And I promise you, this isn't me putting pressure on you in a different way or anything, it's just the cold, hard facts of the situation. According to Cynthia, you are not going to be able to move a muscle for a full month at the very least. You're… going to need assistance with everything. No matter how you decide to proceed, your privacy and independence is going to be absolutely wrecked. I'm sorry for sounding harsh, but that's just going to be your reality for the next thirty days."
"Monika…" Natsuki said warningly.
"I'm just putting the cards on the table here, Natsuki." Monika sighed, and moved on. "Look, I know this really must suck for you, MC, but the way I see it, you have two options: Hospital, or us. Again, I won't force you into anything, and I'll respect your final decision no matter what. I just personally think that we'll be able to make your sucky month a lot less sucky than some impersonal, underpaid and overworked Hospital employees, and I'll be doing everything in my power to make it as comfortable for you as possible. But that's all I'm saying. The choice is yours."
Having finished her speech, Monika sat down again, crossing her arms and looking at him quietly. Her face was completely neutral, not betraying the slightest hint of impatience as she waited for his final verdict.
Around him, the other girls waited as well, mirroring Monika's silence, none of them rushing or pushing, just patiently awaiting his answer.
MC thought. He thought long and hard, trying to account for every possible option. Despite his best effort, he wasn't able to come up with a third, better possibility than the ones put forward.
The Hospital… or Monika.
Clear advantages and drawbacks to both, some more plenty than others. On one hand, a hospital bed as his home sounded like one of the most miserable things he could possibly imagine. Just him being completely alone whenever the girls weren't visiting, with some stranger nurse hired to monitor and assist him whenever he needed to move. In that regard, moving to Monika's place seemed downright appealing.
But then there were the other things to consider. Things that could ruin everything he had with them. Secret things, that he couldn't ever allow them to know about.
What if they find out? What would they do? What would I do?
He looked from Monika to Natsuki, to Yuri, to Sayori, taking in those kind, loving eyes, awaiting a decision he wasn't sure he could make. Frustration boiled up inside him, until-
"Fuck!" He blurted out, wishing he could move his hand to hit something. Maybe himself.
None of the girls said anything, keeping up their neutral staring.
His anger ebbed away, replaced by something else. Something that made his eyes sting.
No. Don't do that. Not in front of them. You're supposed to be the strong one here, think of how they'll react if you-
He started crying. He couldn't help it. Heavy tears started trickling down his cheeks as the sheer hopelessness of his situation finally got to him.
"I- I'm s- sorry." He said pathetically, in between sobs. "I- I didn't wan- it's j- just- I d- don't…"
Without a word, the girls all converged on him, pulling him into a shared embrace. Sayori taking up the lead.
"It's okay." She said, gently.
"Just let it out." Natsuki soothed.
"It's perfectly understandable." Yuri assured.
"There's nothing to be ashamed of." Monika said.
He continued crying freely into Sayori's shoulder for what seemed like hours, feeling her soft hand patting his head all the while never letting up on her hug.
It felt… nice, having them all around him like this, their warm presence making him feel… safe. Calm. Reminding him how much they all loved each other.
It was easily the most convincing argument he'd heard all night.
"O- okay." He mumbled, finally feeling calm enough to speak. All the girls except Sayori called off their hug, and looked at him with wide eyes.
"L- let's give your idea a try, Monika." He said.
Monika gave an emotional sniffle, and smiled weakly at him.
"Thank you. I promise, you won't regret this."
He rested his head on Sayori's shoulder as he looked back into the blank piece of Yuri's wall.
I think I already am.
Thank you MasterHamsters for your kind review! I'm so glad you enjoy my characterizations, especially since I was kinda worried how people would respond to overly sexual Monika!